Honda Car Forum

Hello,

I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but does anyone
recommend or not recommend the use of Hess brand gasoline in Hondas, such as
a new Honda Accord? The Hess gas is 10-15 cents less per gallon than shell
in my area.

Thanks,

Al

In article <NLwLj.65597$y05.41608@newsfe22.lga>,
"alfred" <tomboy83=@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but does anyone
> recommend or not recommend the use of Hess brand gasoline in Hondas, such as
> a new Honda Accord? The Hess gas is 10-15 cents less per gallon than shell
> in my area.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Al

It's not about the price to fill the tank.

It's about the cost per mile.

Run with Hess for a few months, and calculate your cost per mile.

Then run with Shell for a few months. Start with several tanks of their
93 octane (V-Power) to clean out all the crap and crud that resulted
from your using Hess, then go back to 87 octane and start measuring your
cost per mile for Shell gas.

It is possible to spend less to fill up the tank but more to drive each
mile. And it's very likely that's what will happen.

And, of course, there's the costs down the road. There's a reason Shell
is one of Honda's recommended gasoline vendors
(http://www.toptiergas.com).

Yeah, the Hess gas costs less for the same reason the McD's hamburger
costs less than the steak at Ruth's Chris.

I have been using QuikTrip. It is listed as 'Top Tier' and they have a lot
of stations.

Would you consider QuikTrip equal to Shell??
"Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote in message
news:elmop-18BB3B.21262310042008@nntp2.usenetserver.com...
In article <NLwLj.65597$y05.41608@newsfe22.lga>,
"alfred" <tomboy83=@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but does anyone
> recommend or not recommend the use of Hess brand gasoline in Hondas, such
> as
> a new Honda Accord? The Hess gas is 10-15 cents less per gallon than shell
> in my area.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Al

It's not about the price to fill the tank.

It's about the cost per mile.

Run with Hess for a few months, and calculate your cost per mile.

Then run with Shell for a few months. Start with several tanks of their
93 octane (V-Power) to clean out all the crap and crud that resulted
from your using Hess, then go back to 87 octane and start measuring your
cost per mile for Shell gas.

It is possible to spend less to fill up the tank but more to drive each
mile. And it's very likely that's what will happen.

And, of course, there's the costs down the road. There's a reason Shell
is one of Honda's recommended gasoline vendors
(http://www.toptiergas.com).

Yeah, the Hess gas costs less for the same reason the McD's hamburger
costs less than the steak at Ruth's Chris.

Okay thanks for the information. In my area there is Shell, Sunoco, Getty,
Citgo and Exxon/Mobil. We don't have Quiktrip or Philips, Chevron or
anything else like that. A friend of mine said to stay away from Hess/Merit,
so I thought I'd ask here.

Al



"trailer" <st74dummy@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:PsQLj.1351$Q53.535@trnddc08...
>I have been using QuikTrip. It is listed as 'Top Tier' and they have a lot
> of stations.
>
>
> It's not about the price to fill the tank.
>
> It's about the cost per mile.
>
> Run with Hess for a few months, and calculate your cost per mile.
>
> Then run with Shell for a few months. Start with several tanks of their
> 93 octane (V-Power) to clean out all the crap and crud that resulted
> from your using Hess, then go back to 87 octane and start measuring your
> cost per mile for Shell gas.
>
> It is possible to spend less to fill up the tank but more to drive each
> mile. And it's very likely that's what will happen.
>
> And, of course, there's the costs down the road. There's a reason Shell
> is one of Honda's recommended gasoline vendors
> (http://www.toptiergas.com).
>
> Yeah, the Hess gas costs less for the same reason the McD's hamburger
> costs less than the steak at Ruth's Chris.
>
>

In article <PsQLj.1351$Q53.535@trnddc08>,
"trailer" <st74dummy@verizon.net> wrote:

> I have been using QuikTrip. It is listed as 'Top Tier' and they have a lot
> of stations.
>
> Would you consider QuikTrip equal to Shell??

Not without knowing more about it.

But then, if it has a good additive package to keep the engine clean
(that's what Top Tier is really all about) and the fuel cost per mile is
no more than Shell, I'd have no beef with it.

On Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:13:44 -0400, "Elmo P. Shagnasty"
<elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote:

>In article <PsQLj.1351$Q53.535@trnddc08>,
> "trailer" <st74dummy@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>> I have been using QuikTrip. It is listed as 'Top Tier' and they have a lot
>> of stations.
>>
>> Would you consider QuikTrip equal to Shell??
>
>Not without knowing more about it.
>
>But then, if it has a good additive package to keep the engine clean
>(that's what Top Tier is really all about) and the fuel cost per mile is
>no more than Shell, I'd have no beef with it.

I've been using Hess gas for 10+ years and have not noticed any
difference from that, then any other major vendor Sunoco, Shell or
Exxon.

In article <f21004hduf69h5smmr9p4oceh97326cq2e@4ax.com>,
nick@nowhere.com wrote:

> >> Would you consider QuikTrip equal to Shell??
> >
> >Not without knowing more about it.
> >
> >But then, if it has a good additive package to keep the engine clean
> >(that's what Top Tier is really all about) and the fuel cost per mile is
> >no more than Shell, I'd have no beef with it.
>
> I've been using Hess gas for 10+ years and have not noticed any
> difference from that, then any other major vendor Sunoco, Shell or
> Exxon.

You wouldn't, unless you actually compared it to Shell.

If you do, you'll see the difference. You'll see that the cheap gas (15
cents/gal less?) isn't keeping your engine clean and costs more per mile
to run, regardless.

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article <PsQLj.1351$Q53.535@trnddc08>,
> "trailer" <st74dummy@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>> I have been using QuikTrip. It is listed as 'Top Tier' and they have a lot
>> of stations.
>>
>> Would you consider QuikTrip equal to Shell??
>
> Not without knowing more about it.
>
> But then, if it has a good additive package to keep the engine clean
> (that's what Top Tier is really all about) and the fuel cost per mile is
> no more than Shell

that depends on calorie content. and the only way the layperson can get
any handle on that is to keep accurate records of consumption over the
same route in long term testing - just like you say.


>, I'd have no beef with it.
>

In article <tZWdnay8U4UzV53VnZ2dnUVZ_j-dnZ2d@speakeasy.net>,
jim beam <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote:

> > But then, if it has a good additive package to keep the engine clean
> > (that's what Top Tier is really all about) and the fuel cost per mile is
> > no more than Shell
>
> that depends on calorie content. and the only way the layperson can get
> any handle on that is to keep accurate records of consumption over the
> same route in long term testing - just like you say.

yep. Although, given that it's regularly 15 cents/gallon cheaper than
other gas, I don't think I'd waste my time spending a few months
tracking the Hess gas cost/mile.

There's a reason it's cheaper. The fuel company in question has made a
marketing decision to appeal to those too dumb to understand anything
beyond "look, it costs 15 cents/gallon less to buy!".

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article <tZWdnay8U4UzV53VnZ2dnUVZ_j-dnZ2d@speakeasy.net>,
> jim beam <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote:
>
>>> But then, if it has a good additive package to keep the engine clean
>>> (that's what Top Tier is really all about) and the fuel cost per mile is
>>> no more than Shell
>> that depends on calorie content. and the only way the layperson can get
>> any handle on that is to keep accurate records of consumption over the
>> same route in long term testing - just like you say.
>
> yep. Although, given that it's regularly 15 cents/gallon cheaper than
> other gas, I don't think I'd waste my time spending a few months
> tracking the Hess gas cost/mile.
>
> There's a reason it's cheaper. The fuel company in question has made a
> marketing decision to appeal to those too dumb to understand anything
> beyond "look, it costs 15 cents/gallon less to buy!".
>

as you know, i'm very interested in this fuel calorie content thing, and
as a consumer paying for this stuff, i'd love to know what the heck i'm
supposed to be getting for my money.

i've noticed that when i put a bottle of injector cleaner in the car,
its performance improves. not massively, but noticeably. and it's easy
enough to tell because there's a hill near my home which has the perfect
grade to be a great gauge. at 60mph, crap gas, the car needs lots of
pedal and the old cable-controlled automatic transmission kick-down
operates. good gas, injector cleaner, it'll pull up there at the same
speed in top gear, never bats an eyelid. clearly the higher energy
content is giving it more "oomph".

if you look at injector cleaner contents, and as pointed out by tegger
recently, it's mostly kerosene. kero is denser and has a slightly
higher calorie content than regular gas. so the fact that the car runs
better with a little extra kero [and thus, energy density] in the tank
makes sense.

again, i'd really love to know what goes into my tank and what the
calorie content is. in fact, selling gas by the gallon /without/ this
information is like selling whiskey without disclosing the alcohol
content - a license [and incentive] to rip off the consumer. leaving
calorie content as the exclusive territory of the oilcos is absolutely
leaving the fox in charge of the hen house.